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Prices for PDA-style Windows SideShow devices will start from about $80, according to a developer that demonstrated prototypes to Texyt.com today. The touchscreen handheld gadgets share many of the features of PDAs, smartphones, and media players like Apple's iPod, but they connect wirelessly to a PC to send or receive data.

Trojan horse software is being used to artificially boost websites' positions on Alexa.com, the leading internet traffic measurement chart, security researchers suspect. The covertly-installed software first installs Alexa's traffic monitoring toolbar on the victim's PC, and then forces the victim's web browser to visit several websites, thereby increasing their ranking in Alexa's statistics, according to FaceTime Security Labs.

Microsoft's new Xbox 360 Elite has notable improvements, but several enhancements that enthusiasts had been hoping for are not present, analysts have confirmed.

The revamped video games console boasts a large 120GB hard drive as well as clear and sharp HDMI output. However, as expected, the console's CPU is not the new low-temperature 65 nanometer part, which is now predicted to arrive this fall.

Updated May 25: Sony has revealed an experimental flexible full color display that is only 0.3mm thick. The 2.5-inch prototype panel shown at a technology conference today weighs 1.5 grams. Sony claims it is the world's first flexible full color organic EL (electroluminescent) display with an organic TFT drive.

Disproving the adage that 'no publicity is bad publicity', a company today disowned a flood of emails that was apparently crafted to boost its stock price. Pay88 Inc claimed that it was an innocent pawn in an apparent 'pump and dump' scheme' run by unknown spammers.

The unwanted emails began appearing in inboxes on July 14, the company complained in a statement to the media.

Surgeons could perform operations without cutting the skin by using a new magnetic manipulation technique, the scientists who invented it say. They hit upon the idea after seeing teenagers use strong magnets to attach jewelery to their lips without piercing them.

In animal tests, the researchers were able to remove a kidney using the technology. Magnets outside the body were used to position a camera and surgical tools within. More details at EurekaAlert.

UPDATED 2010: New inkjet printer technology that analysts believe will revolutionize the imaging industry was unveiled today by secretive Silverbrook Research.

The company has released astounding videos* of desktop, photo and wide-format printers that print pages and photos 5 to 10 times faster than products from current printer market leaders HP, Canon, Epson and Lexmark.

The world's first intercity magnetic levitation train line, capable of running at up to 500 kmh (310 mph), will be built in China, authorities have confirmed today. The first section of the line is scheduled to open in 2010, China Central TV news reported.

Skeptical analysts are still predicting a price cut for the PlayStation 3 this year, even though Sony may be about to reveal encouraging profit forecasts, according to reports from Japan today. Japan's Nikkei newspaper today claimed that Sony is expecting to improve operating profits to $3.35 billion this financial year – the paper did not identify the source of its information.

Pundits who predict a crisis for paid video download services like iTunes are wrong, says a leading technology analyst. The challenge from advertising-supported rivals like Joost will not be a knockout punch, says Mike Wolf of ABI Research.

While TV show downloads will mostly be funded by advertising in future, movies are a very different story, points out Wolf, who is a Research Director with US-based ABI.